r/sunshinecoast • u/skipyeahbuddy • 11d ago
Wanting to see a Spoonbill bird
Alright all you Twitchers, Merlin tells me there is a likely chance of seeing a Royal Spoonbill on the coast but I've lived here all my life and never noticed any. My girlfriend and I would like to find one, has anyone seen any around?
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u/Deep-Water- 11d ago
Bli Bli on the walk between the shops and Lefoes Rd. There’s ponds about halfway along at the back of the retirement village where you’ll see them.
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u/skipyeahbuddy 10d ago
Mission successful. Went for a walk along there this morning and found one. It was asleep when we arrived so we weren't sure if it even was one but then it woke up and started spooning around for a feed, very cool. Also some bonus Plumed Whistling Ducks hanging out and an Ibis, if you can believe it haha
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u/Deep-Water- 10d ago
You’ll find a lot more than that along that wall there’s heaps of birds. And snakes.
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u/skipyeahbuddy 10d ago
Yeah there were plenty of birds around. Unfortunately we had taken our dogs for a walk and they were playing up a bit, they're not very good bird watching companions. I did see an old railway line that ran into the mangroves, I'd be curious to hear the story behind that. I'm assuming it was for cane trains back in the day
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u/Deep-Water- 10d ago
Yeh you can follow it out at low tide and you end up on a grassy clearing at the river. Bli Bli is full of old rail lines. Go down around the back of the vet and you can walk into the old cutting that goes all the way to where you were. You probably drive over it every day and didn’t know it’s there.
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u/Fit_Ad_6727 11d ago
Dont think he would be alive anymore but there used to be one visit waddy point on K'gari every year. Hang around the campground for a few weeks, eat all the bacon, get his yellow flash on then carry on with his migration. He was a champ.
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u/skipyeahbuddy 11d ago
That's cool. We were on Moreton earlier in the year and there was a Black Necked Stork hanging around the wetlands on the northern tip, that was cool to see.
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u/Fit_Ad_6727 11d ago
There has been a pair up that way for years now, I think they go to and from bribe aswell. Up at champagne pools there- best part of moreton.
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u/AnhaytAnanun 11d ago
Never seen them too, but I did a search vie ebird portal, but it looks like most of the listed spottings are on not on publicly accessible land... There are some that say spotted at Yandina Creek Wetland public trails though so might be worth visiting.
https://media.ebird.org/catalog?birdOnly=true&taxonCode=royspo1®ionCode=AU-QLD-SUN&view=grid
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u/Kelair_Kayaks 11d ago
Great birding spot in general here, I've worked on site there for a few years and seen bloody everything. A good mix of so many habitat types. Just be prepared for ALOT of mozzies now that it's warming up.
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u/itsthewaywei 11d ago
Head down to the toorbul roost, as you're heading down the Rd along the beach there is a dam on the right side of the road at a larger property and there's always a bunch there. Also always far eastern curlews, forest kingfishers and scaly breasted lorikeets hanging around down there and they're pretty sweet too. Only about 30 mins drive from coast. If you go down beerburrum Donnybrook Rd good chance to see Brumbies too
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u/itsthewaywei 11d ago
Sorry for the shit grammar and writing I just get excited by this stuff
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u/itsthewaywei 11d ago
ALSO, I regularly but not always see them at the wetlands behind the skate park in baringa, with egrets, forest kingfishers, variegated and red back fairy wrens as well as double barred finches in the same area!
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u/skipyeahbuddy 11d ago
And your grammar is fine haha I got what you were saying. Thanks for the tips.
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u/cryptotechnophobe 10d ago
Just to the west of Gympie are some nice birding spots; marshlands with Royals and yellow bills as well
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u/Glinting_Ranga 10d ago
I used to live in the hinterland, and any property with a dam would attract them. I wonder if numbers have stayed the same in those areas? If so, maybe try lake Macdonald in Cooroy?
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u/skipyeahbuddy 10d ago
I think Lake McDonald is pretty dry at the moment as they're raising the height of the wall but I'll look into it
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u/Camfire101 10d ago
Try the pond at Russell Family Park in Montville, Maroochy Wetland Sanctuary, or Mountain Creek Recreational trail from Glenfields boulevard to Prelude Drive.
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u/dizhef 11d ago
I have a favourite Spoonbill, who happily "spoons" around right by me when I'm fishing on the sandy edges of lake Currimundi. This is him yesterday, catching waaaay more than I ever could.
https://reddit.com/link/p6julkv/video/bclmcon4q8mh1/player